Emanuele Pirro looks back on Sebastian Vettel's penalty in Canada 2019: "Penalties should be given"

Emanuele Pirro looks back on Sebastian Vettel’s penalty in Canada 2019: “Penalties should be given”. Emanuele Pirro looks back on Seb's penalty.

Emanuele Pirro reflects on Montreal 2019
With five overall titles, six class wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and two Italian Touring Car Championships under his belt, Emanuele Pirro is primarily remembered by younger Ferrari fans as the race steward who denied Sebastian Vettel victory in the controversial 2019 Canadian Grand Prix.

On that occasion, the German driver led the race from start to finish but was penalized with five seconds for squeezing the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton against the wall when rejoining after a slight excursion off-track at the downhill chicane in the first sector. “I had grass on my tires, I had to go wide, they are stealing the victory from us,” commented the four-time world champion in a heated team radio message. In the park ferme, he made his frustration even more evident by swapping the first and second place signs with Lewis Hamilton.

Emanuele Pirro’s words
While Emanuele Pirro and Sebastian Vettel’s relationship has since been mended, the one between the Italian driver and the Ferrari fans definitely has not. “Sebastian Vettel’s penalty in Canada in 2019 was the most difficult decision I made as a race steward. I would have liked Sebastian to win too, but when there is a penalty, it must be given. Even today, I still receive backlash for that incident,” he admitted in a recent interview for the Italian newspaper La Stampa.

The quality of drivers
Emanuele Pirro concluded with a reflection stemming from the recent Monaco Grand Prix, where the drivers were running on a wet track (some with worn-out tires) under the rain using slick tires. Only Lance Stroll and Kevin Magnussen (the latter with slicks in heavy rain) paid the price, indicating that the overall driver quality is very high: “During the last Monte Carlo race, I noticed how strong the drivers are. They pushed hard and made few mistakes in the rain. Of course, the exceptional ones make the difference, but having a winning car allows you to perform at your best. Max Verstappen never makes mistakes because he drives with a calmness that is hard to have when you’re struggling. I feel sorry for Ferrari and Charles Leclerc, who can’t showcase how good he is.” – Emanuele Pirro concluded.